Come The Dawn
by Senashenta
Summary: An ancient legend, lost to the ages, is about to come true: the Elementals have been born. What was once myth is now reality, and as shadows dance along the borders, can those titans live up to their power? (Co-authored with Fireblade.)
1. Prose 1: The Legend

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade. :)

**Notes:** This fic is a joint venture between Senashenta and Fireblade! That's right folks, we've decided to co-author something! Urk! Gasp! Beware! _"Come The Dawn" _takes place between the reign of Randale (Last Herald-Mage) and the reign of Theran (Brightly Burning), and in the fine tradition of writing Valdemar fanfictions that are based on Prophecies or Legends, we have created yet another one!

The two of us will be alternating chapters as we write them, beginning with the Legend, which was written by Fireblade because Senashenta couldn't write verse if her life depended on it. :p lol.

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Prelude: The Legend  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Earth. Air. Fire. Water.  
Elemental sons and daughters  
Born to Valdemar in times of need  
An epic war they did precede

River, Wind, Stone and Flame  
Tragedy did they proclaim  
Born they were, titanic power  
To battle away their darkest hour

Air Companion, eyes of gold  
Ethereal are you to behold  
And Chosen, you, with power great  
When you call, the winds abate

Water spirit, eyes of blue  
Serenely flowing through and through  
And you of sacred rivers three,  
Too, you flow, along with she

Firey one, with eyes of flame  
Truly suits you, does your name  
Chosen, too with temper extreme  
Through you truly lives the dream

And so-calm Earth, with temper bright  
Eyes of green, filled with delight—  
But Chosen filled with sorrow deep  
For human blood, you truly weep

Four and four, all of eight  
Together all of you await  
To save your country, world and home  
To help keep Valdemar all our own

So ride! All eight, ride to your doom  
To battle away the deepest gloom  
And when at last the dark is gone,  
Then again shall come the dawn!


	2. Chapter 1: Callings

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey. This fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**Notes: **This chapter written by Senashenta.

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter One: Callings  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

_:It's about bloody time.:_ A female voice snorted in annoyance, resonating across the Field despite the inherent silence of mindspeech. Several others picked up their heads to look toward the Grove from which the "voice" had sounded, some of them curious and some of them unsure—but there was a definite edge of fear in every one of their gazes. After a second the voice continued with; _:I was starting to think you'd never get around to it.:_

_:Edana…:_ another voice, this one masculine, said in warning.

_:Well, he took long enough!:_

_:Hey!: _This third voice was male as well, though younger than the first. :_It's not like I had a choice in the matter!:_

The older male voice sighed. _:Will you two quit it? We haven't even finished—:_

_:Who do you want me to blame, then?!:_ The female voice demanded.

_:Now she's interrupting _me_.__:_ The older male voice groaned.

Now up in arms, the younger masculine voice took on a defensive tone. _:It wasn't up to me when I was born! Did you expect me to just wander up to the Gods in the Havens and demand to be sent to Earth?:_

_:You could have! That's what _I _did!:_

_:Why does that not surprise me?:_

_:What's _that_ supposed to mean?!:_

Shortly. _:Nothing.:_

The female voice growled mentally. _:If you hadn't been so lazy we could have—:_

_:What about the time _you _kicked Kyrith?:_ The young male voice asked sweetly.

_:What does that have to do with anything?!:_

_:You're so set on pointing out _my _faults, I just figured we could talk about yours for a while. I mean, at least _you _have come control over who you kick, right? Unlike _me_ who had to wait until the Gods were good a ready to—:_

_:You little cretin! If you don't watch it, I'm going to pound you into a puddle of gloo—:_

_:Enough!:_ A second female voice interrupted, and all eyes turned toward the fourth Valdemarian Companion, who stared at the two offending parties sternly for a moment as the third who had been involved in the confrontation shook his head sadly. _:If the two of you don't grow _up_,:_ she said finally, _:_none _of us will go, and if I'm forced to stay here because of you, I can guarantee you won't like it.:_

Surprised by the half-threat, they mumbled grudging agreements—Tethys never threatened anyone, so they could only assume she was ticked off enough for them to be wary. Though now Edana muttered to herself quietly and Ciro lapsed into a fit of juvenile pouting. Nitesh, who had placed himself strategically between them when the argument began, looked from one to the other and then to Tethys with a mental shrug.

The entire argument had been pointless to begin with, as all of the arguments between Edana and Ciro were. The short of it was that Edana was picking at him again for having been born last, and the young stallion had, naturally, retaliated. And as always, Nitesh had been left in the middle of things to try to keep them from killing each other, since Edana didn't seem to care that she was half Ciro's size, and controversially, Ciro didn't care that he was five years younger than Edana.

Now that Tethys had shut them up, however, they were content to just glare at each other behind her back. Nitesh had to marvel at Tethys' ability to keep them under control—considering the non-confrontational personality she had, she somehow managed to instill enough forced respect in the other two that they listened to her.

He, on the other hand, seemed to be next thing to invisible to them when they decided to get into a fight.

_:Look, I'm tired of waiting.:_

Edana again, and she fixed a firey eye on Tethys, who returned the other mare's gaze without flinching, calm blue clashing with angry red, though they all knew she was feeling the same pull as the rest of them.

Nitesh, too, was beginning to understand why Edana was as annoyed as she seemed. The Call was pulling at the back of his head, and had been for so long that he wasn't sure he could force himself to stay in Haven any longer.

Privately, they were_ all_ thanking their lucky stars that Ciro's Call had finally arrived, so they could head out – the older three of the group had been waiting on him for quite a while. Tethys especially, as she had been waiting for nearly a year…

…none of the other Companions could understand why they were waiting, and they really couldn't completely understand it themselves. They just _knew_, somehow, that they couldn't go On Search until all four of them were ready.

Which, in the long run, was why Edana seemed to have such a problem with Ciro lately. Not only had the stallion been born nearly five years after the rest of them, but he had taken longer than most Companions before his Call arrived. And Edana had never been known for her patience, as Kyrith's flank could attest to ever since she had lost what little patience she _had_ with him nearly three years back.

Though he could understand why she was upset, Nitesh also agreed with Ciro—it wasn't as if he'd had a choice as to when he was born, or when his Call arrived, for that matter.

_:Hello? What did I just say?!:_

Tethys' voice was calm but forceful. _:We heard you, Edana. We heard you.:_

_:Then why haven't we _left_ yet?!:_

The blue-eyed Companion, the only one of the four to really blend in with the rest of the Herd, sighed with a short nod. _:I can't wait much longer, either—you know this is as hard on me as it is on you.:_

_:Then let's _go_!:_ Edana stamped a delicate hoof angrily, blowing a breath out of her nose as she glared at Tethys.

_:I have to tell Kyrith, first.:_

Nitesh blinked, surprised, and Ciro stared blankly. Neither one of them was really clear as to why Kyrith needed to be told about their leaving. Companions went On Search all the time, and they weren't required to notify the Grove Born before they went… on the other hand, none of the other Companions were born to herald a disaster, either.

It was probably a good idea to tell Kyrith, after all.

While the two stallions pondered that, and before Edana could break into another fit of mental shouting, Tethys took off, disappearing from the Grove to most likely look for the Monarch's Own Companion, and after a moment Nitesh left as well, intending to have one last look over his collection before leaving Haven for who knew how long.

That left Ciro with Edana, who eyed him dangerously as the young Companion shuffled his feet nervously, the gold of his eyes darting around the trees, before he broke into an abrupt canter after Nitesh. _:Wait for me!:_

Snorting, Edana flicked her tail agitatedly and waited for the others to return.

* * *

Kyrith stared at the water of the Terilee, his mind going over the various possibilities that had presented themselves upon the birth of the Elemental Companions. He knew, of course, that the youngest of them had finally felt the Call, and so they would be leaving shortly to bring back the children who would eventually become the titans of Legend. The problem was that none of the humans—Herald, Bard or otherwise—remembered the Legend at all, and he wasn't sure if he should mention it or not.

If no one knew of it, would it still come true?

He wasn't sure, but he knew he didn't want his actions to be the reason behind what was described in the lost scriptures. But if it was actually _inaction_ that caused it, then he would still be to blame.

A quandary, truly.

_:Kyrith…?:_

He knew who it was without having to look, and acknowledged Tethys with a nod of his head. The mare paced up to stand beside him, and he knew what she was going to say before she spoke.

_:It's time.:_

_:Yes,:_ Kyrith turned to rest his eyes on her. Of the four of Them—the Elemental Companions, who were as revered as any Grove Born had ever been, and at the same time feared by most—Tethys was the one who could blend in most easily. Her only evident difference was in that the blue of her eyes was darker than most Companions, and that was easily overlooked. _:I Sensed that Ciro's Call was coming.:_

Tethys looked down toward the river, and he understood that she was trying to calm herself. Kyrith knew her well—better than any of the other Companions in the herd, and almost as well as his own Herald. He could tell that she was anxious, even if she didn't show it, and it was only natural for her to seek solace in the churning waters below.

_:I wanted you to know.:_ She said, _:that we will be leaving shortly.:_

_:I expected as much.:_ He told her. _:And I am prepared to release the Glamour from the other three.:_

He was speaking, of course, of the illusionary spell that he had set upon Nitesh, Edana and Ciro, to keep their unique eye colors hidden from the human's eyes, though every Companion in the Field was more than aware of the oddities. It was only a precaution, but if they were going off to Choose, then they would have to be taught along with those they brought back to the Collegium. And once their Chosen's Gifts were revealed, the Legend would have to be as well, and there would be no use in hiding the green, red and gold behind hues of blue.

Privately, he was glad to be able to banish the magic. It had been wearing on him for nearly seventeen years—since the night that Nitesh had been born—with bright green eyes that sparkled in the moonlight.

At least, Kyrith decided, his mind had been made up for him— he would have to speak to his own Chosen and explain the Legend before they returned. That way the Heralds would have some time to prepare.

Sapphire eyes closed and Tethys tilted her head curiously. _:Kyrith?:_

The Grove Born concentrated for a moment, then; _:it is done. Go and find your Chosen, Tethys—I know you have been waiting a long time for Ciro's Call and the right circumstances.:_ He paused. _:I can't say your going On Search is a good thing, but I wish you luck despite that.:_

The mare was silent for a moment, then dipped her head and spun back toward the Grove, where Kyrith could sense Edana was still waiting for her, and he hoped for everyone's sake that the younger mare brought back someone of even temperament.

* * *

Ciro's eyes flitted over the rocks, which glinted in various tones and colors, and then turned a dubious look on Nitesh, who was nosing then around and into specific places with what could only be a serious expression.

He really didn't understand Nitesh's hobby… but then, Nitesh _had_ always been a bit odd.

_You're one to talk._ An internal voice snorted, and he shoved it away quickly. _:Hey Nitesh, are you almost done there? I think if we don't hurry up, Edana will hurt __me.__:_ Then he added; _:or, she'll _try_. She's too little to do much to __me.__:_

Nitesh's eyes flicked to him and the other stallion asked; _:do you ever consider that _that _might be the very reason why she doesn't like you very much?:_

Ciro stamped a hoof and glared. _:She's always on my case! I didn't _do _anything!:_

A sigh, and Nitesh lifted his head, still holding a stone in his teeth, and fixed his gaze on the smaller Companion. Then he shook his head, as if deciding against what he had been about to say, and dropped the rock into a space in his carefully-organized display.

_:What?:_ Ciro demanded, annoyed at Nitesh's silence.

_:Nothing, Ciro.:_ Nitesh straightened again, _:let's go.:_

* * *

Kyrith watched the two stallions, whom he knew were of completely opposite personalities as well as elements, vanish into the Grove once more, and after only a moment they reappeared with Tethys and Edana, the firey-tempered Companion already picking at Ciro once more.

And as always, Nitesh was in the middle to keep them from tearing each other apart.

The Grove Born sighed deeply, worry beginning to gnaw at him at the sight of the bright and various eyes they possessed. So different from those that Valdemar had known for centuries. Even Tethys, whose eyes were so deep they could be oceans in themselves—not the traditional crystalline of Companions of old.

Around the Field, snowy manes flagged in the wind as heads came up to watch the four depart, and a barely-tangible current of fear chilled the air. Kyrith knew why, as all those of the Herd were familiar with the Legend that the Elemental Companions represented.

A war was coming, and he didn't think he could do anything to stop it.


	3. Chapter 2: Earth and Air

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**Notes: **Senashenta and I carefully selected the names from to fit the personalities. Nitesh means "Heartbeat of the Earth." Ciro means "Ancient Wind." Ooh! Sneak peek into their Chosen!

Fennelle Eashre: Fennelle is derived from fennel, which is an herb. Eashre is a name from the nether regions of my brain. *scary grin*

Makani Anila: Makani means "The wind," and Anila means "Child(ren) of the wind."

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Two: Earth & Air  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Ciro galloped northwest, fuming. _:What right does Edana have to insult me? _What right_?! She's crazy, I tell you—oh, wait. Who'm I talking to?:_

There was no answer but a slight breeze, ruffling Ciro's mane before whisking away.

_:Ah, I'm being nonsensical. As usual.:_

Ciro continued galloping.

_:Um. Wait… where's my Call?:_

Ciro stopped in the middle of the road and snorted. _:To go through all that from Edana, then to forget the direction of my Call! Uh-oh.: _He screwed his bright golden eyes closed—which looked odd, on a horse—and waited. _:Oh Ca-all, I'm waaaiiiiting…:_

It didn't come.

_:What's Edana going to say? Havens… I just set out in any old direction, though why I picked northwest, I don't—:_

_:Wait. Northwest. My Call! It's not gone!:_

Ciro attempted to dance in a circle, but tripped and fell over. _:Oops.:_

_:Better move on, or I'll be last to return to Haven with my __Chosen, and who knows what Edana would say_ then_!:_

* * *

Nitesh loped through the northeastern countryside, scanning each farm_ :He's not far now—I can feel him.: _Meanwhile, he brooded quietly on the fight between Edana and Ciro. _:I'm invisible! Does anyone care?:_

Inside, he knew that they did care. And why wouldn't they? They were a team.

_:Ah! Right there!:_

Nitesh turned onto a well-beaten path. _:Hmm. Large family, I'm thinking.:_

His bright green eyes looked alertly about as he approached a farmhouse. _:Ooh! That's a nice rock, there! I'll have to remember where it is.:_ His eyes brightened as they fell upon a tanned, dark-haired boy, digging in a vegetable patch. _:That's him. That _has_ to be him.:_

Eagerly, Nitesh sensed for his Chosen's mind.

The boy knelt back and stretched his shoulders, then walked in the other direction, heading for a pump. Apparently, he hadn't seen Nitesh as yet.

Nitesh followed quietly, head cocked as the boy laid a fresh leaf upon a grave._ :Cedani Eashre. Huh. His mother, maybe. Why a leaf?:_

The boy worked the handle of the pump, then stuck his head under the stream. Nitesh watched him. _:He's a gardener—I can tell already. Well, now he'll be a Herald, too.:_ He stepped forward.

The boy shook his head vigorously, then turned and headed back towards the patch—and stopped at the sight of Nitesh. Nitesh knew what he looked like—pure white, with bright, leaf-green eyes. An odd sight, even in Valdemar—for Companions usually had eyes of blue.

The boy peered at him with an odd expression on his face. Then, he raised a dirty hand and pointed at the house. "You'll want my sister then—she's behind the house."

Nitesh ignored this and stepped forward, looking directly into the boy's eyes—no, _Fennelle's_ eyes.

Green met green in a binding of souls.

_:I am Nitesh, Fennelle. I Choose you.:_

Fennelle looked back, lost in the euphoria being Chosen always instilled, but then—

"No," said Fennelle—Fen, as Nitesh had already begun calling him in his mind. Fen shook his head. "No, there must be some mistake. You—you wouldn't want _me_, of all people."

Nitesh looked at Fen. _:But you are my __Chosen, Fennelle. Mount up—oh, wait. Would you pick up that rock and put it in my saddlebags? _ Then _mount up.:_

Fen barked a short laugh. "Odd, aren't you."

_:Please, __Chosen? It's a nice rock.:_

Fen picked it up and put it in Nitesh's saddlebag. "Happy? Now go find your Chosen. I can't be."

Nitesh blinked. _:You are my __Chosen, Fennelle. If you insist, I will _stay_ here until you acknowledge that.:_

Fen looked back at Nitesh, his eyes losing whatever joy they might have had. "I cannot, Nitesh," he said, now softly. "I—I just can't."

Depression leaked down the bond. Nitesh started, and said to himself, _Havens, what the—why—oh. The depression. Right. _He refocused on Fen. _:Fennelle, Heralds are humans. Heralds _can_ be depressed, and believe me, I've seen a lot of them.:_

The part of him that thought like Edana said, _yeah, waiting for Ciro._

Nitesh stomped on that part with a silver hoof.

_:Now mount up, __Chosen, or will I have to drag you by the back of your tunic?:_

Fennelle sighed. "Well, put that way… I'll go."

Mentally, Nitesh heard Fen say to himself, _'I'll be home within the month. They won't want me. Even Mother didn't want me…'_

Tactfully, Nitesh decided to let this wait till they were in Haven.

Fennelle looked dubiously at Nitesh, then pulled himself up.

Nitesh turned back towards Haven. He had his Chosen! And he was probably the first one!

Fennelle asked, as they came back onto the main road, "So—why this obsession with rocks?"

Inside, Nitesh laughed as he explained.

* * *

Ciro stopped at a stream, panting. _:I guess I shouldn't have galloped for all those candlemarks.:_ He buried his nose in the stream and drank_. :How much longer, anyway?:_

Ciro raised his head and considered the road, then the trees with bright yellow eyes. _:Well—it couldn't hurt. I'd probably get there sooner.:_

Instead of heading back to the road, Ciro began weaving his way through the trees.

By sundown, he was completely, totally, lost.

_:Great._ Now_ what is Edana going to say?:_

Somehow, the thought of keeping it a secret never occurred to him.

_:Great. Where oh where is my Chosen__?:_ Wailed Ciro to the night.

The moon glimmered down at him, offering no answers.

_:Wait, the moon! It rises in the east, and it goes west. Um… but it's high in the sky. And these trees will _block_ it when it sets.:_

Ciro stared at the moon. _:Stupid me, I should never have left the road…:_

Candlemarks later and Ciro had decided to watch the moon and see which way it went. Unfortunately, he had fallen asleep. _:Oh, great. _Now_ what to do?:_ The sun hadn't risen quite yet. In the still moments of predawn, Ciro pondered what to do.

_:Wait! __Sunrise! The light's from over there So—that's east. And that means that way is west, and that way is north!:_

Ciro tried to do another victory dance, then remembered falling over.

Instead, he headed north, sporadically checking which way the sun's light was coming from.

He kept having to change his direction.

He realized at sundown what he had done. _:Oh, stupid me! Stupid, stupid Ciro!:_

He laid down with a thump._ :I'm lost… another day wasted.:_

Ciro put his head down and stared at a rock a few feet ahead. _:Eh… stupid horse. Lesson! Never, ever go cross-country _unless your Chosen has a map_!:_

Then a wolf howled.

Ciro scrambled to his feet. _:Whoa, a wolf?! No fair!:_

He picked a direction and galloped in it wildly. Another wolf howled.

_:Lost _and_ wolves? No fair!:_

Ciro wove through the trees, trying to get away from the howls. Abruptly, he burst through some brush, stumbled over a stream—and onto the road he had left. He stared back at the trees, shivering.

_:Stupid horse… never, ever go cross-country again.:_

Ciro began loping along the road, his hooves chiming quietly.

Days passed and Ciro was quite aware, as he finally entered the village, that he was a sight. Mud-streaked flanks combined with scratched legs combined with bright golden eyes made for a Very Embarrassed Companion.

Still, he wove through the streets, looking for his Chosen.

_:Hah! I found the right village!:_

A boy with dirty blonde hair and gray eyes tore through the streets, giggling. Ciro knew him at once. Thinking quickly, he stepped into the boy's path. The boy ran into him with a smack. He rebounded and landed flat on his bottom, gaping up at the dirty Companion.

Ciro winced. _Um. That wasn't the best idea, but now he's paying attention…_ He leaned his head down. _:I am Ciro. I Choose you, Makani Anila.:_

Makani blinked up at Ciro, then scrambled onto his back. Ciro grinned inside his mind.

The grin faded as the mayor, sporting a flour-covered suit, followed by several townspeople, pelted up the street.

_:Chosen, what did you _do_?:_ asked Ciro, sensing he was going to get very tired of that question in a while.

A few years, maybe, because this looked promising!

Makani giggled—actually giggled. It sounded weird.

He whispered to Ciro, "I rigged a sack of flour so it would fall and split on the Mayor's head."

_:__Chosen…:_ said Ciro. _:You must tell me how you did that! I don't have any hands!:_

Makani laughed. The mayor slowed, seeing the prankster atop a Companion. "You—boy—the Herald won't thank you for using his Companion to escape justice!"

Ciro muttered, _:excuse me?:_

Makani stuck his tongue out at the Mayor. "I've been Chosen! I'm going to Haven!"

_:Right you are, Makani!:_ encouraged Ciro. He felt the part of him that sounded like Nitesh say, _don't _encourage_ him!_ He squashed that part with a silver hoof.

The Mayor sputtered, but what could he do? Nothing, apparently, as Ciro spun and galloped away. _:So, how did you do it?:_ He prompted Makani.

"I stretched a rope across the street, hung the sack of flour—it wasn't really that big—and rigged it so it burst right as the Mayor walked underneath it."

_:How?:_ asked Ciro plaintively.

Makani snickered. "A good prankster never reveals his method!"

Ciro laughed. _:Unfortunately, I wasn't in Haven long enough to pull a good trick on Edana. She's another Companion, and she's insufferable. Then I had to come up here, but I tried a shortcut and got lost—:_

Makani was sending disbelief down the bond. "You got lost? In that three acres of woods that's sort of in the bend of the road? That's small!"

Three acres was incredibly small, Ciro realized. Smaller than half Companion's Field.

_:Uh, yeah, but I heard a wolf—:_ He said—

But Makani laughed. "That woulda been me and my gang. It's fun to scare the villagers with fake wolf howls!"

_Uh-oh… I'm never going to hear the end of this. _Thought Ciro bemusedly as he and his Chosen set a course back to Haven.


	4. Chapter 3: Flame and Water

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**Notes:** Name definitions! Edana's name means "tiny flame" and Tethys… well, there isn't a real definition, but she's named after one of the water-oriented titans from Greek/Roman Mythology. As for their Chosen… Keahi means "fire" or "flames", I think Fireblade just made "Domanshe" up. Triveni means "three sacred rivers" and Randilyn means "protected waterfall".

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Three: Flame & Water  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

The wind was slight and blowing in a generally northerly direction, making the trees around them sway. Or, Tethys thought they were swaying because of the breeze. They could have also been bending their branches in an attempt to escape from Edana, who wasn't _walking_ along the road so much as _stalking_, much as anything with hooves _could _stalk.

Even though they had separated from Nitesh and Ciro leagues before, the smaller mare had yet to stop ranting about Ciro—he was annoying, he was stupid, he was immature and juvenile (Tethys resisted the urge to point out those were basically the same thing) and he was just generally a huge pain in the rump.

Tethys had to wonder if Edana was complaining because she hated him, or because she had a crush on him, but didn't think vocalizing that thought would make things better. In fact, it would probably make things infinitely less pleasant for the duration of the time she spent with the red-eyed Companion by her side.

If she was honest with herself, she was infinitely glad when they finally parted ways, and she could head off toward Linte _without_ Edana. Though the idea of the Flame-Oriented mare cavorting around the Holderkin lands was a somewhat frightening one.

_She's always been only semi-balanced…_

Tethys sighed and looked around herself, trying to focus again on her Call, which was fading in and out as she walked. It wasn't as if it was vanishing all together, just… varying in intensity. She had to assume that whoever she was heading off to find wasn't in any danger, then, as Calls were known to be practically crippling if the future-Chosen was finding themselves in a problematic situation.

In any case, she was surrounded by trees and very much enjoying her jaunt into the country, now that she was free of Edana and her complaining. And the idea that she wasn't hurried to find her Chosen… well, that wasn't exactly true. She knew that there was a certain urgency that came along with the Calling— but then, she had been waiting for nearly a year since the first inklings of it, so a few more minutes weren't going to hurt any.

That had probably been the most frustrating thing she'd ever lived through, she decided as she continued down the road at a brisk trot—having to wait until Ciro's Call arrived before setting out after her own. Sometimes, she had cursed the young stallion until her head ached, quite often with Kyrith lending a sympathetic ear. But she knew it wasn't his fault.

She was relieved to be on her way, though.

_Because I was going to go insane if I had to wait another minute._

* * *

A long moment passed, with the curry comb rubbing along his flank, before Kyrith gave a clearing-his-throat noise, catching Elita's attention. The Monarch's Own Herald, who had long since passed out of childhood and now had children of her own, tipped her head curiously. _:What__, Kyrith?:_

Why was it that she was more comfortable speaking with him in mindspeech? He had yet to figure that one out, but he wasn't about to complain. Now, he hesitated, then; _:there__ is something important I have to tell you.:_

Curiously. _:What is it?:_

The Grove Born turned to fix a crystal eye on her, and Elita's hands slowed as a frown creased her brow. _:To__ start at the beginning,: _he began, dreading having to relinquish the information, but knowing that he had to anyway, _:I will have to explain about the Elementals, and the Legend of the __Battle__ of a Midnight Sun…:_

* * *

He wasn't overly tall, Tethys decided pleasantly, but he wasn't short either. He was a good height. Definitely. She was practically giddy as she observed the boy who was seated next to a softly bubbling stream, and giddiness wasn't normal for her.

She had been watching him for several silent moments now, just enjoying the feeling of being so close to her Soul Brother. He was cross-legged, staring into the water in front of him with a wonderfully peaceful expression on his face.

His eyes were a beautiful, sparkling blue.

Finally, she decided to speak. _:Good afternoon, Triveni.:_

She didn't know how, but she was sure that was his name. Surprisingly, he didn't even glance up when she Bespoke him, and instead waved a hand in greeting. "Good afternoon to you, too. It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

_:Yes__. What are you doing?:_

"Listening to the river."

_:Listening__?:_ She knew what he meant, as it was something she did often enough. The quiet rushing of the water could tell a person more things than any words every could. _:What__ does it say to you?:_

"It says today is a wondrous day." He announced, "though I can't tell exactly how, yet."

_:Perhaps__ it's just wonderful in every way?:_ Tethys suggested, still in awe of the fact that he wasn't questioning the mindspeech. In fact, he seemed comfortable with it, which was rare in Newly-Chosen children.

Which reminded her…

_:Triveni?:_

"Yes?"

She took a step forward, and the grass made a swishing sound as her hooves passed through it. _:My__ name is Tethys.:_

He finally looked up. "It's nice to meet you, Teth—oh…"

_:I Choose you, Triveni Randilyn. After so long Searching, I Choose you.:_

* * *

She was annoyed, but that wasn't anything new. Snorting, Edana kicked at a tuft of grass, the steady beat of her hooves faltering for a moment before settling down again. Red eyes flashed as she continued to grumble about various things—Ciro, the fact that she had to waltz all the way down the Holderkin country to Choose, the fact that she had somehow managed to pull the straw that made her the smallest of all the Companions in the Field, Ciro, the fact that she couldn't seem to get a break in life, no matter how hard she tried…

The Hold was in sight now, and she couldn't help being excited despite herself. Her eyes lit, red glittering in the sun, and she picked up her pace a slight bit, anxious to get to the girl she was heading for.

At least she knew that much—her Chosen was a girl.

Thank the Gods. She hadn't been looking forward to a male Chosen. She got enough testosterone from Ciro and Nitesh as it was, and didn't think she could handle being Bonded to a boy for the rest of her life.

Kyrith would have said she was being silly, and Tethys was more than likely to agree, but she didn't care. She was glad to be going off to find a girl, and nothing was going to change her mind.

_Because I know she's going to be perfect in every way._

That was how it worked, wasn't it?

* * *

Blue clashed with blue, and both of them were still and silent for a long minute, with only the bubbling of the river to break it. Companion and Chosen alike were drowning in the bliss of the New Bond that was already forming between them, the boy practically in tears and the mare snuffling his hair happily.

"Teth…" his voice was hoarse, "I thought you were… I thought it was Laife… or another one of the Folk…"

_:The__ Folk?:_

"The _kyree_ that live nearby… I've been friends with them for all my life… they taught me how to talk with my mind, but I still have trouble telling mindvoices apart, and I thought you were… I had no idea…"

Tethys lipped his cheek. _:I was wondering why you weren't surprised when I spoke to you.:_

Triveni was quiet again, and then sniffled once and stepped back, grinning hugely despite the tears of joy that were threatening to trail from his eyes. "So I guess I'm going to be a Herald, right?"

_:Of__ course.:_ She assured him, adding; _:you'll be One Of A Kind, Triveni. One Of A Kind…:_

* * *

She had never understood the Holderkin, and figured she probable never would. Not that they were the only people in Valdemar to live a simple life—they were just scarily serious about their non-existent contact with the outside world, and since very few Holderkin children were Chosen, only a little was known about their ways.

What those in Valdemar _did_ know, however, was that most of the Holder families didn't even tell their younglings about the Companion's Choice, or about Companions at all. And as reading was basically forbidden—at least in girls—they would have no way of finding out.

_They probably think Companions are just pretty horses to make the Heralds look impressive._ Edana rolled her eyes at the thought, and surveyed the farmyard. Somewhere around here was the Soul she was looking for, but no one was in sight at the moment. _Probably off in the Fields or inside working._

Her nose raised and she sniffed experimentally, then started off toward a side building.

From what she could tell, though the entire idea wasn't really clear, the Holds were little cities. But each Hold was just one family, which would mean that they were _huge_; of course, considering they married their girl children off at the tender age of thirteen or so, it wasn't really surprising.

Edana hoped that the girl she was looking for—Keahi? She was starting to think that was the name—was still unmarried, as Choosing a wife and mother would probably be unwise, especially in Holder country.

She paused just outside one of the barns, pawing the ground restlessly, and nudged with her nose until one of the doors creaked open a crack, then peered around the corner into the gloom beyond.

_She's in here somewhere, I can feel it…_

Whuffing, the Companion stepped over the threshold and glanced around. Her eyes adjusted to the shadows quickly, and she spotted who she was looking for right away—a girl, who was bent over and filing down the right fore hoof of a work pony, reddish hair falling over her face and obscuring her features.

Edana was surprised. Shoeing horses, she thought, should be considered man's work among the Holderkin… shouldn't it? Shrugging that off, she paced forward eagerly, remarkably silent for a creature of her size, and only when she was a handful of steps away did Keahi finally look up.

_Her name is definitely Keahi. Keahi… Domanshe._

She released the pony's foot and it didn't even blink, just continuing to chew methodically on the hay that was spread around it. Edana could see Keahi squinting at her, and decided it was time to get the whole Choosing thing over with. She had to get back to Haven, and hopefully before Ciro…

_:Keahi, my name is Edana and I Choose you.:_

Silence, then Keahi barked a harsh laugh; "who are you kidding?"

Edana blinked. _:_What?_:_

The girl's arms crossed, but the flame-eyed Companion noted that she didn't drop the shoeing hammer. "Everyone knows that Companions have blue eyes." She informed Edana curtly, "just because I'm Holderkin doesn't mean I'm stupid, and I don't know _what_ you are, but your eyes are a dead giveaway."

She was taken aback, but only for a second. Then she snapped; _:what__ else do you know that's this color of silver and white, huh?!:_

Keahi raised an eyebrow. "You won't quit, will you?"

_:I__ just Chose you, and you think I'm a _fake_?!:_

"I told you, I'm far from stupid. So go away before I tell the Heralds what you're doing."

Scornfully. _:And how would you do that, Chosen__? Your people don't like Heralds, remember?:_

"Well, I'm different than the rest of my family."

_:So__ I can tell.:_ Edana snorted angrily. _This girl is infuriating!_

Somehow, she just knew that the others were going to find the entire thing very amusing… she stamped in the hay, and the pony flicked its tail and stared at her with big doelike eyes. Keahi continued to look at her flatly and still hadn't relinquished the hammer, which she looked confident enough to use as a weapon if she had to.

"So, are you going or what?"

_:Unfortunately__, not without you.:_ Edana growled.

"Oh, really, well—"

The door opened abruptly and the barn was bathed in sunlight. Keahi's sentence was cut short, and both of them jerked their eyes toward the doorway, where a tall man was watching them darkly.

* * *

"We need to inform the King." Elita sighed, using her voice for the first time since Kyrith had begun speaking, and turning the forgotten curry comb over in her hands. "And the Council… can you be sure that their birth heralds a war?"

_:I am sure.:_ Kyrith nodded gravely, _:the Battle of a Midnight Sun is coming, and we must prepare for it.:_ He paused, and when Elita closed her eyes sadly, he added; _:mark me, Chosen… every man, every woman… every boy and girl… anyone who is strong enough to fight will be needed in the coming fight.:_

"But… the Trainees…"

_:They__ as well.:_

She opened her eyes again. "Kyrith, who will we be fighting?"

The stallion hesitated, then shook his head. _:I__… don't know, Elita. I don't know.:_

* * *

The pitchfork didn't look all that inviting.

Edana was growling as best she could, but it wasn't something that equine throats were really made for. She was also backing slowly away, shielding Keahi with her own body, and holding her head low to the ground in both a defensive and at the same time offensive posture.

_:Stay__ behind me, Keahi.:_

For once, she wasn't arguing, though she still had the hammer in a death grip. Edana's head came up and her eyes rolled wildly as she half-reared in an attempt to force the aggressors back.

The man with the pitchfork was unimpressed, and simply continued backing them into the wall.

"I knew there was something wrong with you, girl." He stated in an annoying, gravelly, borderline evil voice. "And now I have proof—you should have kept your demon friends away from here!" The pitchfork was brandished once more; "I'll be doing Valdemar a favor by getting rid of you both."

"What?!" Keahi seemed torn between shock and rage.

Edana wasn't having such a problem. _:Get onto my back.:_

The girl shook her head vehemently.

_:_Now_, Keahi!:_

Again, nothing. So Edana did what she had to do—she whirled around, grabbed teh redhead's collar in her teeth, and all but flung the child onto her back before abruptly flying into a leaping run. Keahi was forced to either grab hold of her, or fall off entirely and possibly land on the pitchfork-holding manic (whom Edana had a sneaking suspicion was actually her father.)

With anger in her every move and her eyes blazing an unholy red (which most likely only furthered his "demon" thoughts), she jumped toward him, shouldering him out of the way at the last second.

She _had_ been considering trampling him.

However, she'd had to shoulder the pitchfork aside to get past, and he happened to be temporarily attached to the implement, so he was by default flung to the side with it. The Companion snorted, hissing when the tines of the pitchfork scraped across her shoulder.

That would probably scar.

And before he could shout for help, or Keahi could open her mouth to either scream, argue or complain, she exploded out the barn doors. Dust billowed, an obscuring cloud of grey and brown with the occasional stone mixed in, as they flew down the road toward Haven—one enraged Companion and the girl who was clinging desperately to her back


	5. Chapter 4: Earth Shaking

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**Notes:** In this chapter, you will be introduced to Phineas! Phineas is a young Bard, just graduated, and he's decided his "masterworks" will be written out of following the Elementals around! (His name means Loudmouth.) In other words, for those who have read Oathetc, he's _another_ Leslac!

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Four: Earth Shaking  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Phineas sat on a bench in the gardens, pondering the recently-revealed Legend about the Elementals as he tuned his new instrument—an invention of his own. _That Legend could become a masterwork…..a great masterwork. So there's going to be a war. With who, I wonder?_

He drew his bow across the strings, smiling at the mellow sound. _Ah, perfectly tuned. Those tail-hairs from that little palfrey—beautiful! Companion hairs would produce yet a sweeter sound. The war could be with…Karse, maybe? Why would we need such a special team, then?_

An idea hit Phineas like a blacksmith's hammer. _I know who's going to write the masterwork!_

He smiled and began playing a victory march on his instrument, which he had dubbed the "violin." _Me!_

* * *

Fen lay with his head on a tree root in Companion's Field, watching Nitesh position his newest rock. _I wonder when we'll all be here. Nitesh tells me we're waiting for Ciro again, but then the Companion with red eyes—Edana—said something, and he refused to tell me what._

He shifted a few inches to his right and stared upwards. _It's been three weeks now. I wonder what's taking Ciro so long._

Fen sensed, rather than heard, a presence come up on his right. He looked over, and saw Keahi, her flaming red-gold curls lit by the sun, coming towards him, an arm over her Companion's shoulder.

He rolled his head back and stared at the sky._ Why can't they just leave me alone? _He wondered gloomily.

Keahi separated herself from Edana and sat beside Fen, leaning against the tree. "Nitesh is a bit odd, isn't he? I mean, collecting rocks and all."

Fen began to stand, but decided not to move. He settled with his back against the tree trunk. "Yes, Nitesh is strange. That rock he's nosing is from my old farm, and he's managed to convince me into polishing several of them and begin growing miniature trees to complement them. Very odd."

Keahi blinked at him as she unsheathed her belt knife to trim her nails. _That's more words than he's said in the entire time I've been here at one time,_ she marveled.

Fen eyed her belt knife and shifted ever so slightly. Keahi flicked away one of her nail parings as she chuckled at Nitesh's odd habits. Fen picked up a twig and began stripping it of its bark absently.

"So, does Edana have any interesting habits? Nitesh can't be the _only_ eccentric Companion."

Keahi stared. "Fen, you very nearly made a joke. Edana's fine, really, but she's got a temper that's almost worse than mine and when she's angry, her eyes flash fire…"

Nitesh half-smirked.

"Ow!" Exclaimed Keahi as she accidentally nicked herself. A drop of blood welled from the cut.

Fen stared at the cut, the blood draining from his face, then screamed as he was pulled into a memory—

_An eight-year old Fen watched his mother as she made dinner. Her lip was trembling. He didn't say anything—his mother cried often. _

_Fen carefully picked up a dish filled with salad and began carrying it to the table._ _The rim of it was slippery. Fen tried to save it, but it crashed to the floor._ _The dish was unbroken, but the salad was scattered over the ground._

_His mother jumped at the noise. She turned—and saw the food scattered._

_It was too much for her, though Fen didn't know. He hastily knelt and began picking up lettuce, but his mother said, dully, "Don't bother, Fen. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore."_

_Fen looked at his mother quizzically as she picked up the butcher knife she had been using._

_His mother placed the tip of the knife to her chest. "Nothing matters any more," she said, sadly—then drove the knife through her torso._

_Fen screamed. Screamed. Screamed—_

Nitesh only had time to hear his Chosen scream—then was knocked over by the force of the memory. Keahi jumped at the sound—then was forced to grab the tree trunk as the ground began tossing itself about. The earth seemed to scream with Fen as it rolled and shook, rocks flying everywhere, cracks opening in the ground-even a tree uprooted.

Luckily not the one Fen had been leaning against.

Keahi clutched the tree trunk, staring at Fen as he thrashed. "What—" she shouted, but the sound of the earth's rumbling drowned out her cry.

Edana, meanwhile, had been near Nitesh as she talked to him, now nosing his unconscious form as she tried to keep her balance. _:Nitesh__! Nitesh! Wake up—you have to stop your Chosen! Nitesh! _Nitesh!_ He's ripping the ground open!:_

Nitesh didn't move, caught up in the whirl of pain-sorrow-emotion-sorrow-_pain_ that his Chosen was experiencing once more.

The earth continued to shake like an avalanche was descending.

At the other end of Companion's Field, Kyrith threw up his head as a scream echoed—

—and the ground began to shake.

_:What the—:_ he wondered for an instant, before emotion so vast it seemed an ocean rolled over him, making him scream at the pain.

All over the Field, the other Companions were having a similar experience—all but Tethys, who had been calmly chatting with Triveni at a stream.

She tossed her head at the scream. _:Tri? Do you know what that was—whoa!:_

She stumbled as the ground began to quake. Triveni's head snapped towards the direction Edana had taken when she had finished talking to Tethys. "I think it's Fen!" He shouted over the thunder of the groaning earth.

_:Damn__. There's a pain-loop there—oh, Havens.:_ Tethys sighed as she calmly Sensed in that direction. Not much could shake Tethys. _:You're__ right, it is Fen. And that pain loop, incidentally, is the only—and I mean the _only_—link to his power.:_

Triveni said, wryly—like his Companion, little could shake him—"well, at least he gets a lot of power for the pain."

Tethys turned and looked at her Chosen as best she could with the heaving ground. Like water, they somehow managed to conform and fit to the earth, and weren't violent unless provoked. _:Chosen__, that's bad. It's very bad. If Fen has to go through this every time he needs to access his power—_and_ he can't control it—well, you can imagine the results. I only wonder what the key is.:_

Triveni shuddered. "Wouldn't Nitesh be able to stop this? Why hasn't he?"

Tethys closed her eyes for a moment, then said, very seriously, _:Because__ the force of Fennelle's pain is too great for him to withstand. He has collapsed, and is re-living the pain with his Chosen.:_

Tri winced. "Ah—will he be all right? And how will we _work_ in the future?"

_:He'll be all right when the pain is halted, and as to working—well, the only way I see us able to withstand it is for all of us to link, which will seriously limit our reach, at least until he has it under control—or at least has other paths open.:_

Edana butted in, her mindvoice tight with strain. _:Just__ like you Water-types, to stand and hold a calm conversation when there's an _earthquake_ going on! Now help me revive Nitesh! I can't do it alone—and Keahi's too busy clinging to a tree to do _anything!_:_

Keahi clung to the tree, which was also shivering and tossing about with the earth. She stared at Fen. "Fen! Fen, snap out of it—you're ripping the ground open—_ow_!"

One of Nitesh's rocks had been flung into the air, hitting Keahi just above her left eye.

She ignored it, trying Mindspeech. _:Fen__! Fen! _Fen!_:_

Abruptly, the scream which had lasted—hours, it seemed, but only minutes—cut off as Fen convulsed—and then went limp. As he passed out, the ground stopped shaking. Keahi let go of the tree, cautiously.

Edana, her mind linked with Tethys and Tri, shouted at Nitesh, one last time, _:WAKE__ UP!:_

Nitesh opened a bleary green eye—and started back at the fiery red one glaring straight down at him. _:What—what happened?:_ he said, weakly. _:I feel like I've— FEN!:_

He struggled to his feet and somehow managed a semblance of a trot towards Fen. Keahi sat by the tree, wiping the blood off her face with her handkerchief.

Nitesh nosed at his Chosen. _:Dear__ gods in the Havens, I—I _lived_ that with him. No wonder he's depressed—Gods, I should have asked sooner. Fen? Fen? Oh, Gods, get help, somebody!:_

Keahi stood and looked at Fen, who was shorter than average. _I can probably lift him enough to put him on Nitesh –no, Edana. Nitesh is still wobbly..._

She walked over and levered Fen from the ground, which, strangely enough, had depressed enough to make a hollow for him to lie in. As she picked him up, her muscles straining, the hollow shivered, and vanished.

Edana, sensing Keahi's intention, walked over and knelt. Keahi placed him—more like dropped him—on Edana's back, then positioned him so he wouldn't fall off.

_:Good__ thinking,:_ said Nitesh.

"Thanks," grinned Keahi, taking it for granted that he would talk to her.

Edana stood carefully. _:Let's get him to Healers.:_

As Keahi and Edana, tailed closely by Nitesh, set off towards Healer's, a Companion with yellow eyes and a boy on his back trotted in through the gates.

_:What have I missed?:_ asked Ciro, brightly.


	6. Chapter 5: Fear

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**Notes:** There are no notes. :D

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Five: Fear  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Nitesh surveyed the bank of the Terilee and lipped at one of his rocks listlessly; they were scattered all over the place now, and some of his best ones were resting at the bottom of the Terilee River, half buried in silt and mud... how unfair life could be. His collection would never be the same again.

Of course, that was the least of his worries at the moment, given that Fen was currently _quite_ unconscious and occupying a bed at the Healer's Sanctuary. He had been there for nearly two days, and showed no signs of coming out of his seemingly self-induced coma—Nitesh couldn't even Feel him in his head, and it was... unnerving.

At least he could take a small bit of comfort in the fact that, even though _he_ couldn't tell how Fen was doing, Triveni had offered to keep an eye on him. So the other Trainee was seated comfortably in Fen's room, watching over him and more than willing to let Tethys know if anything important happened—and Tethys would, she promised, tell Nitesh.

It was a good plan, but he couldn't help feeling a little empty...

Forest green eyes trailed across the wreckage that had once been _his_ part of the riverbank and he sighed heavily—then flinched both outwardly and in his mind when his eyes drifted, on their own accord, to the spot where Fen had been laying when his _attack_ (there was no better word) occurred: the ground was sunken nearly three feet down, and, to Nitesh's eyes, looked too much like a grave for his comfort. He hoped the Heralds would come and fill it in soon.

_:Will Fennelle be alright?:_ Ciro had arrived, Makani on his back, too late to see what had happened. He sounded worried, but didn't really know what was going on; _:um—Nitesh? What happened to him?:_

Nitesh glanced upward—

_The cracking of a dish—shattering—ringing—echoing._

_Lettuce and other vegetables scattered across a wooden floor._

_The dangerous edge of a knife as it slashed downward in a flashing arc._

_And blood._

—_so much blood—_

_He screamed._

_And screamed._

_And—_

He shook his head, unsettling the disjointed images, and they vanished as quickly as they had appeared, fading back into the depths of his memory. Ciro was peering at him curiously, and Edana was looking at him over her shoulder, though she was trying to appear as if she wasn't. Whuffing, Nitesh bent and picked up a stone from the ground in front of him and moved to place it with the others.

_:He was... reliving when his Mother died.:_ He confided worriedly, _:I don't remember much—whatever happened, it hit me as hard as it did Fen, and I was out cold for most of it.:_

_:You're lucky.:_ Edana muttered, _:it wasn't fun.:_

So he had assumed—when he finally came to, with Edana and Tethys both hovering over him and looking frantic, and without Fen's presence in his mind, he had practically panicked. Luckily, the roaring headache that had resulted from the raw power that had slammed into him from Fen kept him from doing much other than groaning and heaving himself to his feet—and then trying to reach his Chosen.

_:He was caught in a pain-loop.:_ Tethys told them from where she was standing, close to the bank of the river and all but drowning in her own reflection. _:I felt it, and so did Tri.:_

Nitesh nodded gravely. _:And it ties to his Elemental control.:_

That much was obvious from the destruction around them. It radiated outward from where Fennelle had been lying for nearly thirty or forty feet, had uprooted two trees, and had collapsed a good chunk of the nearby banks of the Terilee. It would take a lot of landscaping to fix what had been destroyed.

_:Well, great.:_ Edana snorted.

And Ciro blinked a few times before asking; _:what do we do, now?:_

* * *

Two days earlier, when the catastrophe had occurred, classes had been—obviously—called off for the rest of the day while the Collegia were evaluated and inspected for structural damage. Luckily, it was discovered, Fen had been far enough away from the buildings that they hadn't sustained any—and classes had resumed the following day.

But the damage was already done.

_Keep staring and I'll give you something to stare at._ Keahi thought in annoyance, and scowled at the gaggle of Blues that were looking at her as if she would eat them. Their eyes widened at the glare, and they quickly looked away, whispering among themselves in what was a clear combination of excitement and fear.

The scowl made her wince, though, and as soon as their loathsome attention had shifted away from her she reached up and touched her left eye: it was swollen and badly bruised, and she sported a bad gash right above it—the result of one of Nitesh's stupid rocks, which had struck her during Fen's fit. To be short, she had a nasty black eye and several stitches to boot.

_:Why do I need to be here?:_ She demanded of Edana; _:I don't need to learn all this!:_

_:History is important.:_ Edana snapped, _:so just deal with it.:_

_:Fine.:_

Edana was in a bad mood again—not that Keahi blamed her. She crossed her arms and hunched down in her seat as Herald Aristan continued his lecture. She could feel eyes on her, and knew where they were coming from—since Fennelle's attack, the other Trainees had been treating her—as well as Tri and Makani—differently.

They were afraid of her, and though normally that wouldn't have bothered her, their constant staring and whispering was starting to get on her nerves: and it wasn't just the Blues, either. The Healer and Bardic Trainees were just as bad... and even the Heraldic Trainees were...

Well, it was hard for the Trainees to be accepting when their Companions were just as afraid as they were...

_:How come Triveni doesn't need to be here?:_

_:He's with Fen.:_

_:You know, I could sit around and watch Fen just as easily as he can.:_

_:Keahi...:_

She huffed—and as the other Trainees were beginning to stare again, she gave them a _Look_ before setting her face in a carefully schooled mask of indifference. A few seats away, Makani was keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the teacher, but it was easy to tell he was uncomfortable and unhappy by the way his shoulders were slumped forward.

Something bounced off of the back of her head.

Jumping a little, Keahi jerked her head around to look for the source even as the ball of crumpled paper skittered across the floor and vanished under another chair. Three rows back, a Bardic Trainee was talking to his friends and grinning in a way that made it clear he was the one who had thrown it—and already crumpling another piece of paper as he spoke.

Keahi stood up, shoving her chair away from the table with a painfully loud scrape. Everyone turned to look at her, but she ignored them and instead simply gathered her books, tucking them under her arm, and headed for the door. No one—even Herald Aristan—tried to stop her.

Once outside, she slammed the door behind herself, heaving it closed with as much strength as she could muster, then leaned against it for a moment before stalking off toward her room. _I was better off in the Hold, for Haven's sake!_

Despite her harsh upbringing as one of the Holderkin, it was nothing compared to what she had been through in the past two days. Keahi had never before thought about her prior life with longing, but she was beginning to—and it seemed that the fact that the others were afraid of her now was only making things worse.

Behind her eyes, an angry flame was lashing back and forth, and a strange heat flushed her face—

—her hair began to rise as if by the wind and—

Running footsteps behind her. "Keahi!" Makani's voice. "Keahi! Wait up!"

The snapping fire sputtered and died, and she turned to face the Child of the Wind. "_What_, Makani?"

Makani was slightly younger than her, just a tad shorter, and seemed almost too young for the Grays that he wore, but he was probably one of the only ones who wasn't afraid of her in any way. Even Triveni and Fennelle seemed to be on the cautious side when she was around—but Makani treated her as if she were as normal as the next person. And in a strange way, she appreciated it.

He slowed to a walk when he reached her, and tagged along at her side as she walked. "I just... I didn't want to stay there, you know?"

"Why do you think I left?"

"Yeah..." he trailed off for a moment, and then brightened; "I'm going to head out to the Field and see Ciro. Do you want to come with me?"

Keahi hesitated. She just wasn't used to people being friendly toward her. "I guess."

"Great!" He seemed genuinely happy to have her company, and smacked the hand that wasn't holding his books into her back in the way he would with a friend. "Let's get rid of our books and go for a ride!"

"Hmm..."

* * *

The situation was getting out of hand.

The full Council had been called to discuss the Legend that had recently be brought to light, as well as the appearance of the Elemental Companions and their Chosen, and Monarch's Own Herald Elita was trying to listen patiently while the aristocrats of the Council yammered about the inherent dangers of the Elementals, but her patience was beginning to wear thin. For that matter, so was Kyrith's, as he listened to the proceedings through her.

_:Idiots, the lot of them.:_ The Grove Born snorted.

Elita agreed, but didn't reply. Instead, she heaved a frustrated sigh and stood up—interrupting Lord Forshalen in the middle of the latest of his customary rants—and slammed her hands down onto the table in front of herself to be sure that everyone was paying attention. Annoyed eyes turned to her, and silence fell over the room.

"Alright," she said finally, "now it's time for you to shut the hell up and listen!"

A muted gasp rippled through the assembled councilors.

"It isn't the Elementals that you have to worry about." She told them all firmly, leaving no room for argument. "They are here to _help_ us, not to destroy us. They aren't the danger—they are the gift the Havens sent us for salvation!"

Her voice hadn't finished ringing through the room when one of the Lords spoke up; "what _do_ we have to worry about, then?"

Elita's eyes shifted to him, and her lips compressed into a thin line. "The Midnight Sun, Councilor." She said finally, "ladies and gentlemen, we will soon have a full-blown war on our hands."

* * *

"This is what I love best about being Chosen."

Makani sat easily on Ciro's back, comfortable and contented, and Ciro looked just as happy. Keahi, who was seated a handful of steps away, leaning against a tree and plucking blades of grass from the ground beside her, snorted. "I don't like being Chosen at all." Edana was standing a few feet away, but the Look she gave her Chosen said more than words ever could. Keahi rolled her eyes. "I'm just _saying_..."

"Anyway!" Makani grinned, and Ciro glanced back at him; "what do you think they're going to do? I mean, they won't let us skip classes forever, Keahi."

"I'm not going back." She said, and there was no doubting her sincerity. "Not unless we can have classes with just us—me, and you, and Fen and Triveni."

"That'd be nice." Makani agreed.

Silence. Keahi stared off into the distance, and Makani leaned down to rest his head against Ciro's neck: Ciro nickered happily, and Edana rolled her eyes. Sometimes it was sickening how well the two of them got along, Keahi decided.

"Excuse me?"

A blink, and Keahi found herself staring at the scarlet-clad legs of what could only be a Bard. Surprised, she turned her eyes upward. The Bard was grinning—and beyond him, Makani, Ciro and Edana seemed to be trying to figure out just where in the hell he had come from, as he seemed to have just appeared out of thin air.

"You're Keahi Domanshe, right?"

She wasn't sure if she wanted to answer that question. "Uh—yes?"

"Great!" The Bard clapped his hands together excitedly and produced a roll of paper and a charcoal pencil seemingly from nowhere, even as he was glancing back over his shoulder at the others; "Makani Anila, I presume! I'm Bard Phineas, and it is a _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance!"

"Um—"

"Now if you don't mind I have a handful of questions I'd like to ask you."

"Well—"

"You see, I'm composing a ballad in regards to what happened a few days ago, and—"

"Wait. Uh—" she couldn't get a word in edgewise, and shot a glance past Phineas to Makani, who's eyes were the size of dinner plates. His mouth opened and closed a few times, and then he shrugged helplessly. "What are—"

_"Keahi! Makani!"_

Triveni wasn't one to get overly excited, but he certainly sounded that way, and when Phineas moved to look behind him Keahi stole a glance past him to her comrade: he was running all-out, waving an arm above his head. "You guys!"

_Saved by Tri._

She pushed herself to her feet and skirted around Phineas, even as Makani was calling; "what is it, Tri?"

"It's Fen!" He shouted, "it's Fen!"

"What about him?"

Triveni stumbled to a stop next to Edana and leaned down to gasp for air. "He's awake! Fen's awake!"


	7. Chapter 6: Misunderstandings

**Disclaimer: **Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Six: Misunderstandings  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Time hardly seemed to pass as Triveni gasped out his message, then restored itself as all five whirled to streak towards Healer's. The Companions easily outstripped their Chosen, who lingered a little for Tri—but only a little. Triveni seemed content to simply jog—

Keahi glanced behind her. _Oh. Of course._

Tethys had come up behind Triveni, and waited a moment for him to mount before leaping into a thundering gallop, overtaking Makani and Keahi within seconds.

Out-of-breath, at last the Elementals converged at Healer's Collegium. Keahi, Tri, and Makani filed inside as the Companions headed over to Fen's first-floor window, where Nitesh stood, his head vanished inside the room.

Once they reached the door, however, the three paused. Fen wasn't likely to have enjoyed his experience at all, and now—well…

A Healer bustled out in their moment of indecision, recognizing Tri and giving them a jerk of her head for them to enter. Slowly, they came into the room. Triveni took the chair where he had obviously been sitting before, and Makani swiftly claimed the other one. Keahi, at a loss, slowly sat down at the very edge of Fen's bed.

Fen had resolutely turned to face the wall, and was pretending to be asleep. Keahi, from her vantage on the bed, could see that this wasn't so—his eyes were open the merest slit, his dark hair tousled. At seeing her reaction, Fen closed his eyes again—not defiantly, just slowly.

"Fen, we know you're awake," said Keahi, taking none of it. "Talk to us."

"Please," added Tri, giving Keahi a sharp glance.

_:Chosen?:_ Nitesh's plea was heard by all in the room, as well as the Companions vying for a place at the window. Even Edana wasn't picking on Ciro, for once—one red eye looking in the window even with Ciro's head just above hers.

Fen sighed. _I'll have to do this sometime,_ he thought to himself, and sat up, shifting pillows beneath him to rest against the headboard. He didn't meet anyone else's eyes, though, stubbornly looking at his feet instead of the other's faces.

_:Fen?…:_ came Nitesh's mind-voice again.

"Are you all right?" said Makani, at last, no longer able to bear the silence.

"Fine," said Fen, eyes involuntarily flicking up to Makani. He blinked. "Who are you?"

Makani grinned. "I'm Makani Anila. And you're Fen—Ciro and the others have told me all about you!"

Fen flinched. _All? That isn't—that's not—_

_:Not _everything_, Chosen. Just your name and such. We didn't tell him about—well, actually, _I'm_ wondering what exactly _that_ was,: _said Nitesh, tentatively, waiting for his Chosen to either lash out or close himself in some more.

Seven sets of eyes watched Fennelle nervously. And something in Fen cracked.

"Quit _staring_ at me!" he snapped sharply.

Sheepishly, most of the others in the room shifted their gaze away, but Keahi fixed Fen with a level green-eyed stare. _I've had enough._ "Fen, what was that?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes, her expression clear that she wasn't going to take any dancing around the subject.

Fen's eyes met hers levelly, his expression as clear that he had his secrets, and preferred to keep them that way.

Both sets of green eyes stared at each other, Fire's anger warring with Earth's patience. All the other six could do was wait. Tri sat back a little, knowing this would take a while, but Makani yawned and let his eyes wander around the room.

Edana and Nitesh were intent upon the staring contest, but Tethys stopped straining to see over Fire and Earth's heads and waited. Ciro shifted from foot to foot, much like his Chosen.

_I'm not going to stop until he tells me,_ thought Keahi as she stared at Fen. Equally strong was his thought of, _Over my dead body._

The silence in the room was only broken by Makani's idle finger-drumming on the arm of his chair as the two sets of eyes bored into each other.

At long last, a Healer-Trainee opened the door and edged into the room, burdened with a heavy tray. Triveni leaped up to hold the door as she turned and headed towards the bed, setting the tray down over Fen's lap.

"Out you go," she said, firmly, to the other three. Keahi glared at her, but the Trainee would not be moved. "He's been days without any food but broth," she said, firmly, "And you are going to give him some peace, Elemental or not."

"Come on, Keahi," said Tri, quietly, still holding the door as Makani stood.

_This isn't finished,_ thought Keahi as she stood and stalked out the door, not looking back at Fen.

* * *

Phineas sighed as he trailed slowly after the Elementals. _I didn't even get to finish my questioning,_ he thought ruefully as he wandered towards Healer's.

However, since a certain… incident he would neither confirm or deny, Phineas was no longer allowed into Healer's Wing unless—and this was a quote—"Unless you are bleeding from the eyes, ears, _and_ the rest of your body, Bard."

He could see the four Companions clustered outside a window, but as he tried to edge closer, the blue-eyed one—the Water Companion—gave him a level look that said going nearer would be a very bad idea.

Phineas beat a hasty retreat to a bench and watched the door, pretending to enjoy the sunshine. Bringing out his charcoal and parchment again, he doodled a few lines of words and crossed them out in turn, at last settling on drawing a tree.

The door slammed. Phineas looked up, and saw the red-haired one—Keahi, wasn't it?—stalking down the path. She was muttering to herself, and Phineas decided, in self-preservation, to stay where he was. He might be a Bard… but he wasn't sure his immunity would hold around that one's temper.

He went back to drawing his tree.

A shadow fell over the paper. "Is that a…" said the owner of the shadow, scrutinizing the drawing—"a Brussels sprout on a stick? Who would want to roast a Brussels sprout?"

Phineas glared up at the Heraldic Trainee. "It's a tree," he said, icily—then realized who it was. This was Triveni, Chosen of the Water Companion. "Pardon my rudeness," Phineas said, switching to smooth politeness, "Will you answer a few questions for me?"

"As best I can," said Triveni, warily.

Phineas moved to a clean part of the parchment and began firing off questions as fast as Tri could answer them.

* * *

Triveni came out of the encounter with the Bard with the odd feeling that he had barely escaped with his skin. _Does he stop at _nothing_? The earthquake to who the other Elementals were to who my family was? _

_:Bard Phineas is well-known as one of the nosiest Bards in the Circle,:_ came a chuckling voice into his mind. _:I see you didn't know what you were getting into, and I was having too much fun watching your face to warn you.:_

"Thanks," said Tri dryly to his Companion. Tethys' eyes sparkled with amusement as he fell into step beside her. "Did Nitesh manage to pry out what it was yet?"

_:No… and somehow _I_ think we should leave him his secret for now,:_ said Tethys. _:We only need to know that it's a pain-loop and blood triggers it.:_

"I don't know if that's enough," said Tri, thoughtfully.

Tethys head turned to look into the distance. _:Not again,:_ she sighed as she listened.

"What?"

_:Oh, Edana's just venting her spleen on Ciro again. Why, I will never know…:_ muttered Tethys. _:Excuse me, Chosen, while I go prevent Ciro from being minced into tiny pieces by our fiery friend.:_

She cantered off.

Tri wandered alone for a while, musing on nothing in particular. _Balance,_ he suddenly thought, blinking. _Tethys is water, and she is the only one who can shut Edana, fire, up._

He blinked again. _That's interesting._ Tri made a note to watch for further signs of this balance between them.

Tri continued to meander, at last emerging into Companion's Field, where he saw a rather interesting sight.

Ciro, a large Companion stallion, was doing his best to curl into a ball as a tiny Companion mare—hardly larger than a pony—advanced on him, but stopped as Tethys advanced on _her_. Ciro took the opportunity to make a sneaky escape into the trees, and Tri chuckled at the poor Air Companion.

"Hello," said a voice to his right. And above him.

Tri looked up. Makani was in a tree, at first glance comfortable, but on second look—

"Can you please help me down?" Implored the Trainee dangling from several choice branches.

"What happened?" asked Tri, scrambling into the tree to begin unhooking Makani.

"Keahi happened," sighed the Air Chosen, shifting his weight obligingly over to the right so Tri could work his tunic off a particularly knotted branch.

"What did you do?"

"Well… I tried to see why she was so angry and to calm her down, but she threw me into the tree," explained Makani as he dropped onto another branch. "Ow."

"Sorry," apologized Tri, thinking, _She's got one hell of a temper, then._ "Want me to see if I can smooth her down?"

"It's your neck," said Makani darkly as he lowered himself from the tree. "Thanks."

Tri watched the boy walking carefully away, shrugged, and dropped from the tree, looking around for Keahi.

Keahi, however, had no intention of being found. She was in the last place anyone would look unless they were mindlinked to her—in one of the lover's grottoes by the river. She paced back and forth, quiet as a cat as she fumed.

_First he goes and collapses, has as all bloody worried for _days_, then doesn't even have the courtesy to tell us _why_! Who does he think he is?_

She kicked fiercely at a stone, which ricocheted off the wall and into the river. Keahi watched it, darkly, then resumed her pacing.

* * *

_:Chosen?:_

"No, Nitesh," said Fen, staring at the wall. His head was really starting to hurt, but he was told by one of the Healers that more sleep would not be good for him at the moment, and so he had come to endure the last half-candlemark of questions.

_First the others, then Nitesh's endless stream of questions,_ he thought, _I'd bet my life that one of the Heralds—or maybe a Mindhealer—will be here within the next half-candlemark to question me. _

Nitesh sighed, shifting his weight from hoof to hoof outside the window. He was worried about his Chosen; he would _not _lower the shields around his mind to even his Companion!

That was disconcerting, really; it gave Nitesh the impression that part of his mind was a blank wall. Tentatively, he probed at the barrier again, but found no breaks or breaches in the wall. _Where did he learn to shield? He shouldn't be able to do that at _this_ level! It isn't healthy…_

Nitesh sighed again and peered at his Chosen, who stared resolutely at the wall. Time for another try… _:Chosen,:_ he wheedled, _:Please. If you can't _tell_ me, at least just open to me. I might be able to help…:_ he finished, rather hopelessly, but trying to sound persuasive.

"I said _no,_ Nitesh."

_:Why?:_ asked Nitesh, plaintively. _:You're not doing any good, locking it up inside you like that. Do you really want to lose control like that again? At least share the burden. :"Pain shared is pain halved…":_

This got a reaction—a flash of guilt, and the image of the gash over Keahi's eye, before the barriers slammed shut again. _Aha. A crack,_ thought Nitesh. _:If you tell me, I will know what links you to your power, and I could block it so it wouldn't happen again.:_

"No. No one can help me with this," stated Fen, flatly. There was no room for questions around it-just the flat statement that Nitesh's Chosen believed with all his heart.

Nitesh sighed yet again. This was really beginning to give him a headache—if he'd had hands, he would've rubbed his head. The flat sentences delivered by his Chosen made Nitesh even _more_ worried than he had been before-there should be some emotion there.

Nitesh slowly withdrew his head from the window and let it fall towards the ground, sagging and letting his posture go. _:Chosen…:_ he said, or rather whispered, without any real hope that it would be answered.

There was no answer. With hooves that felt more like lead than silver, Nitesh turned from the window and slowly headed back to Companion's Field. He didn't want to go, but he needed to eat eventually… and to not do so would invite lectures from not only Tethys, but Kyrith as well.


	8. Author Notes: The Elementals

There seems to be some confusion and muddlement when it comes to the Chosen-Companion pairs in CTD. So here's a brief little guide to the Elementals for those of you who need a hand. :)

**The Elementals of Fire:**

The Companion is EDANA. Edana is rather smaller than most other Companions, so the stallions just tower over her. Her eyes are bright red, making her look rather demonic. They glow when she is angry, which makes her look positively evil. Edana has a short and hot temper, and a desire to prove that not only is she as good as other Companions, but that she is _better_, her main scapegoat being Ciro. Poor, poor Ciro. (She's good at heart, really…)

The Chosen is KEAHI DOMANSHE. Keahi is tall, with flaming red hair with subtle gold highlights (sorry if this sounds MS. *tries to steer far, FAR away*) and green eyes. She also has a short temper, and holds grudges a long time. Supposedly she has a soft side, but… neither Sena nor I have seen it yet. Well, not in anything we can tell you about yet. *winks at Sena*

**The Elementals of Air/Wind:**

The Companion is poor, hapless CIRO. I'm going to copy the description Sena sent to me when we were just starting on this, since he fits it to the letter and hasn't changed as we write the story, unlike _some_ other characters. *glares at Makani and Tri* *Makani and Tri nervously edge away*

Ciro is the youngest of all the Elemental Companions, and it shows in his immaturity. Sometimes he has trouble taking things seriously, and normally during times like that, Tethys has to use her mothering nature to gently remind him of his responsibilities. Edana absolutely cannot _stand_ him because of it, and he just doesn't really understand why. He gets along well with Nitesh, since they're sort of similar in personality.

Everything in life is fun and games to Ciro, but he takes safeguarding his Chosen seriously (possibly the only thing he takes seriously), and should Makani be threatened in any way he would immediately change from the sweet and fun-loving Ciro everyone knows, into a demon with hooves.

Physically, he's still growing, with the gangly almost-full-grown look of something that's almost reached it's final size and shape, though it's obvious he'll end up with a racer's body; thin and lithe and streamlined. The Yellow-Gold of his eyes makes him seem even more ethereal than most Companions, and can be creepy in the wrong light.

The Chosen is MAKANI ANILA. Makani is like the wind in many ways—he's unpredictable in which direction he'll turn next, and he's rather flighty. Like Ciro. Makani loves tricks and jokes, and has a quick wit and a sense of humor which has gotten him into trouble rather a lot. Makani has dirty blond hair and gray eyes, and he lived on the streets in a town before he was Chosen, using his talent with Air to lift things up and steal them away.

**The Elementals of Earth:**

The Companion is NITESH. Nitesh is rather lighthearted for a Companion, though this is becoming forced as he fights to keep Fen out of depression. Nitesh's build leans towards that of Kantor-a stocky, strong warrior rather than an ethereal, graceful runner. He has an odd hobby of collecting rocks, and keeps them in a chunk of Companion's Field that he refers to as his "Garden". His hobby is collecting rocks and rearranging them endlessly. He has green eyes.

The Chosen is FENNELLE EASHRE. Fen's a bit shorter than average, with dark brown (almost black) hair, deep green eyes, and tanned skin from working in his garden all the time. He has an acrobat's build-slender, with strong, compact muscles. Fen is rather depressed, unless he's gardening, which makes him happy. Nothing gives him more pleasure than to grow something, and killing makes him sick. He cannot stand the sight of blood (see chapter 5 for his reaction) but he is patient, and his temper, though severe when awakened, takes a lot to bring to the surface. Occasionally, Fen is morbidly cheerful.

**The Elementals of Water:**

The Companion is TETHYS. Tethys is calm and serene, and is slow to anger, though when she does get angry, whoever made her so regrets it. Deeply. Teth is motherly towards her Chosen, and fiercely protective. She is thin and ethereal, and always graceful.

The Chosen is TRIVENI RANDILYN. Tri has startlingly bright blue eyes and short black hair. His skin is naturally tanned, almost like a Shi'na'in-in fact, his great-great-grandmother was a Tayledras who had left her Clan for his great-great-grandfather. He's light-hearted, but is usually thoughtful and reflective. Tethys' motherly outlook towards him occasionally annoys him, but rarely. He gets along well with just about everyone he meets.


	9. Chapter 7: First Lesson

**Disclaimer: **Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade.

**Notes: **Several days have passed since Fen woke up… he's out of Healer's now, and they're having their first lesson now, since Fen's Gift is obviously out of control. They're in Companion's Field with the Grove Born and Elita, King's Own.

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Seven: First Lesson  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Time passed smoothly and quickly, until Fen was fully recovered and back in classes. At the moment, all four were suffering through History—their regular teacher, who was Herald-Chronicler Aristan, was actually very funny and entertaining, but he was off-duty with a concussion from a small incident with the Artificers and some insecure parts of their latest contraption. The substitute was a courtier and a scholar with _no_ sense of humor whatsoever, and simply told them to take notes as he lectured.

The courtier in question wasn't even paying attention to the little group of three Blues and a Bard in the back, whispering to each other. Keahi in particular was uncomfortably aware of their scrutiny. Fen was receiving stares as well, but they seemed to be more… _afraid_ of him than anything else, because of the earthquake. Makani was the only one _not_ on the wrong end of the stares, since he was right under the teacher's eye in the middle of the front row. And besides, everyone seemed to be… _charmed_ by Makani more than anything else. The former street rat could charm the paint off a wall, if he exerted himself, and he exercised that talent frequently. Triveni seemed to be oblivious to everything as he scribbled notes.

_Just like him,_ thought Keahi, flicking a glance at the Water-oriented Trainee. _Whatever's going on, he melds in without even trying. Annoying of him._

A piece of paper bounced off her chair. Keahi ignored it, but her face grew slowly red with anger. _Of course, _I'm_ the one who gets all the thrown papers. Tri's too unnoticeable to warrant any, Makani could charm the moon to rise in the west if he wanted to, and Fen's scared them into submission. Of course, _I _have to be the one with the demon-Companion._

Edana protested in the back of Keahi's mind. Keahi blocked her, dispassionately, growing still angrier. She slouched in her chair, taking a note every so often for appearance's sake. Inside, her anger smoldered as she felt the stares on the back of her head.

Speaking of her head… a second paper ball clipped her ear and landed on the desk, and shortly afterward, a third bounced off Keahi's head.

And inside Keahi, something snapped. She went stiff with rage, stood, and whirled to face the Blues and the one Bard. A distant part of her noted that they were the highborn troublemakers, and the Bard had been one of them before his Gift had been discovered. The Bardic training had done nothing to improve him. They clearly found her quite funny, talking behind their hands to each other, and the Bard-Trainee launching another paper-ball.

It never got a chance to hit Keahi, for it burst into flames, along with every other paper within a six-foot radius of her, and at last, every paper in the room. The other paper-balls combusted, along with Keahi's notes and the notes of the students sitting near her. The lamps along the wall flared high and went out as their fuel was exhausted, and the unlit candle on the teacher's desk melted into a puddle.

Triveni, strangely, was the only one unscathed-his notes were intact, and as everyone else beat frantically at the fires, he leapt to his feet and scrambled over several desks to Keahi. Chills ran down his spine as he stared into her eyes-bright with rage, her face red with fury, flamelets dancing in her hair, giving the uncanny impression that she was on fire.

_:Shake her!: _called Tethys, within his mind. Without even thinking, Tri grabbed Keahi's shoulders, and almost snatched them back—she was hot as the paving-stones on a summer day—then put them back and shook her.

Hard.

Keahi's mind was incoherent with anger. Thoughts raced around her skull—_burn them torch them how dare they laugh burn burn torch KILL!_—and she was subsumed in the fire. Then someone shook her—she stared at a face suddenly in front of hers, seemingly wreathed in blue-and whatever it was inside her stopped, as Tri doused the flames.

"What happened?" she whispered, shaken, staring at Tri. The Trainee shook his head. Looking around, Keahi saw the students—a few still trying to put out flames, most pressed against the nearest wall—and the teacher. All stared at her.

Abruptly, someone grabbed her arm. Another someone grabbed her other arm. Tri moved to the side as Fen and Makani escorted Keahi from the room. Tri followed within a few steps, closing the door behind him.

They didn't pause until they reached Companion's Field, and once there—Companions scattering in their path—Nitesh's rock garden, seating her near the banks of the Terilee. Keahi seemed absorbed in staring ahead of her, looking neither left nor right. Tri took a seat near her, peering into her face.

Keahi seemed to regain control of herself as Fen and Makani took seats as well. "What did I do?" she said, blinking, her green eyes no longer fiery—merely confused.

"You set all the paper in the room on fire," said Makani, "And the lamps. And you melted the candle."

Keahi slumped, slowly, rather ashamedly. "Did I hurt anyone?" she said, at last.

Glances, shaking of heads, look back at Keahi. "No," said Fen.

_:That's two of you gone out of control,: _said a Mindvoice to all four-they looked up, and saw the Grove-Born Companion standing several feet away. _:Who next?:_

The Elemental's respective Companions, just arriving, stared at each other, then at Keahi, then at Kyrith. _:First Earth, then Fire,:_ continued Kyrith, fixing the four of them with a stern, keen-eyed stare, _:One ripping trees from the ground—:_ Fen blushed _:—the other creating fire from _nothing_ in a closed space. What next? A wind blowing the roof off the stable when Makani gets in a temper? A flood of the Terilee when Tri gets angry?:_

Before any of the Trainees, or their Companions, could object to say that this didn't seem quite fair, Kyrith said, decisively, _:You need lessons in your Gifts. Now. I had intended to leave this till later…but—: _Kyrith heaved a sigh _:—Events are determined to interfere.:_

_:This isn't any of _their_ faults,:_ said Edana defensively, stepping forward to stand behind Keahi. _:They are young. _We_ are young. How are we supposed to know what to do? We didn't _ask_ for this!:_

Kyrith shifted his gaze to the Fire Companion, meeting her red eyes coolly. _:You did not ask. And yet you are what you are. You can't deny it, I can't, and it would be useless to do so. So. Lessoning. We begin _now._ In control, which _all_ of you seem to need.: _Kyrith's eyes flickered over Fen and Keahi before he turned to look behind him. _:Elita comes now,:_ Kyrith added, as the King's Own came running from behind.

Out-of-breath, the Herald still had dignity enough to fix all of the Elementals with a level stare. "You've caused havoc among the Trainees," she said, sternly. "Kyrith told me what he told you, so I'll skip the lecture. But I'm pulling you from regular classes until you _all—_" her gaze fixed on Keahi "—have control."

The King's Own sat, regardless of her Whites. "You've set the Trainees astir," she added, "They're terrified of you—all of you—now. Do you really want that?"

The stricken looks on all their faces seemed to confirm what Elita was thinking. "Right. So… Gifts. I would like a demonstration from all of you, so I can determine how to train you."

Elita looked at Keahi. "Your Gift is closest to the ones we know. Set this paper on fire." The Monarch's Own crumpled a note and tossed it into the air.

It burst into flame and crumbled to ashes before it hit the ground as Keahi glared at it. Elita blinked. "Ah… well. Your Gift works, apparently… let's move on."

She looked at Makani. "Air. You're Makani and Ciro, right?" At their nods, she nodded herself, crisply. "You two. Summon a breeze."

Makani stood and went to stand beside Ciro, draping an arm over his Companion. _Summon a breeze..? _he wondered to himself.

Well…

Makani concentrated. He thought about air, in all its forms—the breath that expanded and contracted his lungs, the air that flowed around and over him, the tiny breezes summoned by the smallest movement.

Without doing anything really consciously, a breeze began to blow, gently, from behind Elita to twine around the two, like an affectionate cat. It was joined by another, then another, then another—until Makani was wreathed in wind, ruffling his hair and Ciro's mane and tail, dancing to his command.

Makani opened his eyes, slowly, and felt the winds around him. Laughing, he raised his hands in triumph, as if cupping the air in his hands. Reaching and gathering errant breezes, he wove them into one wind and sent it at Elita, gently as if he were releasing a butterfly.

The wind passed her and the power faded from the two, slowly. Fen blinked at a curious double—image, as if the two were themselves—and yet wreathed in a pale yellow light that wove through their veins, Companion and boy. He closed his eyes firmly; when he opened them, the image was gone.

Elita looked slightly shaken. "How much effort did that take?" she said, her voice businesslike.

Makani shrugged. "It's as easy as breathing," he said, sitting. "Who's next?"

Elita looked over the others. "Triveni. Do something."

Triveni glanced at Tethys. She looked back at him. Triveni waved a hand vaguely at the stream.

A ball of water rose and splashed Elita. The King's Own looked stunned.

At the look on her face, most of the tension dissipated, and the four Trainees started giggling. Elita tried to keep a straight face, but at last surrendered to laughter. "Well, _you_ have control at least!" she said, between chuckles.

After everyone had their laughter under control, Elita looked at Fen. "Erm…" said the Herald, "Do something, I suppose."

Fen stared at the ground, willing it to move. Willing it to do _something_.

Nothing happened.

_:Erm…:_ said Tethys private-mode to Kyrith, _:Fen's Gift is blocked. In a pain-loop, I think. If he sees blood, he goes… berserk. But he doesn't seem to be able to reach it in any other way.:_

Kyrith relayed this to Elita, who blinked. "Ah…" she said, "Does anyone have any other Gifts, besides their… Elemental powers?"

The four lapsed into thought. Keahi though fleetingly of a dream she had had, not long before Edana had come to Choose her, about her riding a Companion with red eyes…

_Coincidence,_ she thought firmly, and shoved the thought to the back of her mind.

"Mindspeech with each other," said Tri at last. "I've had my Mindspeech for a while. And I can reach all of them, if they're not shielded."

Nods of agreement. Elita waited for admissions of any further Gifts, then sighed and said, "I suppose having such powerful and unique Gifts cancels any chance of others manifesting," she said, her eyes lingering on Keahi—the only one with a Gift similar to any she had heard of before-for a moment. "Very well. You have the rest of the afternoon free. I shall go schedule your classes so you have them only in your little group," Elita added at the last, turning to leave.

"Thank you," said Makani, bowing from his seated position. The Monarch's Own did not respond, but simply walked with Kyrith, a nameless worry eating at her.

At last, it manifested. _:If Fennelle's Gift only comes into being when he has seen blood and is out of control, and shakes the earth that violently…:_ she said to Kyrith.

There was a silence. Kyrith turned a blue eye onto his Chosen, but said nothing, until—

_:If the Midnight Sun is as bad as you anticipate, and as bloody,: _said Elita, _:…there may not be a Valdemar to return to.:_

There was no answer from the Grove-Born, and that in and of itself was more worrying than a response.


	10. Chapter 8: Luck, Gifts and Animosity

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade. :)

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Eight: Luck, Gifts and Animosity  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Someone picked up a mug and took a sip, setting it down slightly too-firmly, as if the drinker was nervous. Sinovan Olatel, whose father was on a Council seat, looked over his fellow Blue, and the one in question shifted. "My father told me about the newest Trainees," he said, breaking the ice, before anyone asked what this clandestine meeting was about. "According to him, there's going to be a war. One that could demolish Valdemar."

"Karse?" Said an uneasy voice, from the opposite side of the table. Sinovan shook his head. "Not Karse," he said, "Father couldn't say much, but he did say the Monarch's Own was convinced it wasn't from a country we know about."

A silence fell, until another Blue Sinovan knew only vaguely as the heir to an estate in the North spoke up. "It'll be from the West or North," the speaker said, "If it's from the North, my holdings will be the first destroyed and looted."

"But how can we _stop_ it?" said a dainty-looking girl, her voice almost panicky.

"I don't know," admitted Sinovan, "But the…_Elementals—_" his voice uttered the word with disdain— "Are supposedly our saviors."

He waited.

"If they appear when the war is about to begin," said the girl, slowly, "Then… without them, there might not be a war."

Sinovan smiled, chillingly. "That is the conclusion I have come to."

He waited as the other Blues and various highborns his age put two and two together. At last, the heir to the lands in the North said, "The Terilee is flooding. If one or two fell in…well, I'm sure an accident wouldn't point to any of us."

* * *

Triveni wandered through Companion's Field, walking alongside the Terilee as he thought over things. In accordance with Keahi's—and the rest of the group's—wishes, the Elementals were now taking classes just as the four of them, save for Weapons. But that was all right, since in Weapons you couldn't concentrate on anything but the sword, stave, or other training implement in your hands, or you'd get walloped.

Triveni rubbed a bruise on his arm ruefully as he mulled over that day's class. Keahi's temper hadn't dampened over the last few days, and a few choice remarks during warm-up by some of the Blues had Keahi striking harder than strictly necessary. Triveni had fumbled a block, and, well…

Well, his arm had gone numb, then had started hurting like hell, but it wasn't broken. And it was his left arm, so at least he could still use his good hand.

Tri stopped to look down at the Terilee, which had flooded its banks thanks to a prolonged rainfall in the North. This part of the river was particularly treacherous, with slippery footing and rocks beneath the surface. Swimmers had died in this section—not recently, but still, deaths.

A footstep behind him was the only warning he had before someone _shoved_ him, hard and mercilessly. Tri fell forwards, too surprised to try and shift his weight to fall to the side rather than face-first, and toppled into the river.

A current brought him under within seconds, dragging him down to the bottom of the river, banging him against the sides of the rocks. Triveni winced, but allowed the current to carry him down, holding his breath patiently.

_I suppose it was to be expected, that we would be attacked eventually,_ he thought, slightly bitterly, as he chanced a swimming-stroke and gained some measure of control, _But they made a huge mistake._

Tri grinned underwater as he pushed off the bank and found a current taking him upwards. _They threw the Water-oriented Trainee into the river. Hah. One would _think_ they could tell us apart…_

_:Concentrate on the swimming, Triveni Randilyn!:_ came a sharp mindvoice, and Tri choked as he tried to gasp in surprise. He managed to regain control after tumbling head-over-heels through the current, swimming with sure strokes upwards.

The water he'd inhaled didn't seem to be doing any harm…

Tri put the thought out of his mind and tried to find a current to aid him upwards. There were none…

Well, there was one. But it was so _small._

But it was drown or—well, _drown_, come to think of it, unless he used his powers.

Tentatively, Triveni Reached, as he had done for Elita, and somehow _enhanced_ the current, making it stronger and bearing him to the surface. He took a deep breath before ducking underwater again, though this time staying close to the surface, as he worked his way to the bank.

Unfortunately, the bank was steep, and very slippery. Triveni clung to a rock, staring up at the bank morosely. _Damn…_

But wait…

He had lifted that water the other day with hardly a thought, shaping it and bringing it through the air with barely a breath of power. What if he shaped the water again, lifting himself onto the bank?

Worth a try, anyway.

Triveni closed his eyes, took a breath, and _lifted_.

And he was standing on the bank. Turning, Tri looked at the river, using his power to bring the water out of his clothes without even thinking—leaving himself completely dry-somehow vaguely disappointed at having to leave his element. But that was beside the point—he was fine, but—

His eyes widened in alarm as a thought occurred to him. _Gods! The others!_

* * *

Makani wandered through Companion's Field, aimlessly taking turns and twists in his meanderings. At last, he ended up at the Terilee, and turned to walk alongside it, staring absently at the swollen river.

The gray-eyed boy picked up a stone and threw it into the river, watching as the current dragged it forward before it sank out of sight. Picking up another one, Makani weighed it thoughtfully in his hand before throwing it with a flick of his wrist.

This time, the stone skipped three times, leaving a trail of ripples, before it sank. Makani grinned to himself and stooped again—

But—

_:Chosen!:_ Came Ciro's alarmed Mindcall, along with a startled neigh—

Makani looked across the Terilee to see his Companion galloping frantically forward—

And someone picked him up and threw him at the river. Makani soared through the air, his mind in shock, but—

Something inside him was alert, and reacted without consulting his brain. The something reached, and twisted, and—

Makani's mind began to work again as he found himself floating in the center of a small whirlwind _above_ the river, seconds after he had been thrown. His mouth fell open as Ciro thundered across a half-swamped bridge, seemingly transformed from his regular easygoing self into a demon with hooves—a demon who with a battle-scream charged three fleeing Blues.

Makani jolted from his paralysis as four other Companions—none he recognized—charged out of the trees to help Ciro in herding them, surrounding the Blues with enraged white horseflesh. Nudging the whirlwind _there_ and _there…_

Makani soon found himself on solid ground, and released the winds.

Triveni came sprinting up to him, his eyes wide and gasped in relief when he saw Makani. "'Kani!" he panted, stopping beside the Air-oriented Elemental, "Teth has the ones that tried to get me in the river. _Where are the others?_"

* * *

Keahi sat in Nitesh's rock garden, tossing pieces of gravel into the stream as Fen weeded.

That's right, _weeded_.

Keahi shook her head to herself, flicking a curl of red hair over her shoulder, and directed another sidelong glance at Fen, who was carefully teasing a strand of some creeping vine out of a bush, apparently to join the neat pile of vines he had to the side, still rooted at their base. Rolling her green eyes, Keahi sighed and looked Havenwards.

It wasn't raining here, merely a bit overcast, but the floods in the North were enough to flood the Terilee, and the little streams that laced Companion's Field. This one wasn't more than two or three feet wide and maybe a foot and a half deep when the weather was normal, but now it was two and a half feet deep and very fast.

Still, no risk of drowning, should she happen to fall in…

Keahi shook her head and attempted to skip a rock. She'd never been good at it, though, and the pebble fell to the bottom. Sighing, Keahi stood, with a yawn and a stretch. Turning to Fen, she saw him at last pull the weed from the ground. Keahi applauded sarcastically. "Wonderful, wonderful, the almighty Fen has pulled a weed," she said, "In Companion's Field where no one truly cares whether there are weeds or not."

Fen at last glanced up at her as he stood, brushing dirt and grass from the knees of his trews. "I care," he said, mildly, as he picked up the weed. "Could you burn this? If I leave it, it'll re-root and spread."

Keahi sighed and nodded, and Fen tossed the plant into the air. Keahi glanced at it, and it burst into flames, burning to a mere trickle of ash in the air.

A gasp in the bushes gave someone away, but at that point, several Blues leapt from behind the trees and in the bushes, converging on Fen and herself. Their intent was clear as one of them drew a knife, holding it backwards so he could rap their heads with the pommel.

Keahi and Fen instinctively went back-to-back as the Blues circled for a moment. _Damn, he can't defend himself without destroying half the Field—_ Keahi thought, in the part of her mind that was coldly analytical, but the rest of her was angry. How _dared_ they? First to mock them, then to attack? What the _hells_ were they trying to do?

And fire burst into being, unstoppable—not touching any of the Blues, but surrounding the circle on both sides with columns of hot, blue flame. Keahi split the columns and split them again, hardly aware what she was doing, herding the Blues into a small group in front of her so she didn't have to control so much fire.

Nitesh and Edana burst into the garden, followed by five other Companions, surrounding the circle of fire.

_Chosen! You can let go now!:_ said Edana into Keahi's mind.

Keahi did not respond.

Fen was the one who broke her paralysis—grabbing her shoulders, he whirled her around to face him and shook her, calling her name in a firm voice.

Keahi came back to herself, still enraged, but in control of herself by now. She released the fires reluctantly, turning back to face the terrified highborn Blues surrounded by Companions.

"Drop the knife," she said, her voice detached and filled with steely rage. The Blue let it fall. Before Keahi could say anything else, however, Fen interposed himself between her and the highborns. "Sit down, Keahi," he said, firmly, taking her shoulders again and pressing her down. Keahi blinked as the rage somehow leached away—and her knees turned to jelly. Instead of forcing her down, a rather surprised Fen found himself controlling Keahi's fall.

Keahi slowly arranged herself into a cross-legged position, her clenched fists in her lap. Opening her hands proved to be something of an effort, but once she managed to, she realized her fingernails had dug deep into her palms—so deeply, she had drawn blood in three places.

Luckily, Fen had turned to look at the Blues again, and Keahi wiped the blood on the grass before he could see it.

She realized, as she sat there and Fen glared at the Blues, and the Companions circled them, exactly what she had done—called fire out of nothing and burned the air around the Blues, holding a lot of flames for nearly a minute. As Keahi had never done something on this scale before, her powers were fairly well drained—like a rarely-used muscle suddenly used a lot in a short space of time—and her head felt odd.

Peacefully, as the Fire-oriented Trainee rarely did anything, Keahi fell backwards as darkness claimed her.


	11. Author Notes: The Great Return

**Notes from Senashenta:** What is this? Is life actually returning to _Come The Dawn? _So it would seem! My goodness! Miracles happen! Haha. Just kidding. –hearts-

What? Oh, no, not about the life returning. That's actually happening.

Basically, forever ago, my writing muses, um… died. Severely. Sterling, Keir, Jack, all of them. After a while it became pretty clear that it was because of my various prescription meds, which, unfortunately, had a rap for dousing creativity as a side-effect.

It took literally years to get my meds worked out enough that some of the side-effects started to go away, and just the last couple months I've managed to get back into my writing, both in original works and fanfiction.

Right now I'm going through all my old fics and editing them. I've already done it with all my one-shots and moved on to my chaptered ones. In the process I'm deciding which ones I want to work on again and which ones I'm going to just discontinue all together.

_Come The Dawn_ made it into the continue list!

So basically, tldr; I'm back! Whoo! :)

**Notes from Fireblade: **Heyla! Fireblade here. Man, I haven't been here in years, the website's changed!

You may have noticed a name change to Dreamspinner, but I'm going to switch that back to my old name when I go back to working on this fic with Sena (yes, you heard that right!)

In regards to Like the Moon, I do have the rest of the plot sketched out, but at present I don't have enough time to completely the rewrite I was working on when I stopped. Still, trips down memory lane and all, it's fairly likely that working on CTD, which was always a blast, will jumpstart everything else.

So... hope to see some old friends and plenty of new faces, and enjoy the fic!

**-Sena and Fireblade :)**


	12. Chapter 9: Friends And Enemies

**Disclaimer:** Valdemar and concepts belong to Mercedes Lackey; this fic and original characters belong to Senashenta and/or Fireblade. :)

**Notes:** Hoshit, a chapter after literally _years? _Yes, yes you are reading correctly! Hopefully Fireblade and I can get back into the grove for _Come The Dawn_ after so long, right? Haha.

**COME THE DAWN**  
**Chapter Nine: Friends And Enemies  
By Senashenta & Fireblade**

Considering the relatively short time they had all been at the Collegium, they seemed to spend a lot of time at Healers'. Not that the building wasn't nice. It was decorated pleasantly and meant to be calming—which is _was _most of the time. But still, none of them particularly enjoyed their time there.

"First Fen and now Keahi." Makani sighed. He was sitting by the window in Keahi's room, one elbow on the sill and his chin propped in his hand. Fen was sitting beside Keahi's bed and Triveni was standing by the door, leaning back with his arms crossed and a weary expression on his face.

There was a sense of déjà vu as they all waited for Keahi to wake up, though the Healer who was in charge of her had told them not to expect it to happen for at least a day. She had used her elemental power to the extent that all of her physical and mental energy were sapped. She would have to sleep off the backlash of burning that much magical power all at once.

It was similar to what had happened with Fen before, though Keahi's occurrence had been much less violent—and much more under her control. Still, the entire episode didn't bode well for the small group.

"Only you and me left, huh Tri?"

"Ye Gods, 'Kani, don't even joke about that."

The younger boy just grinned in reply—then yelped when Ciro, who was watching through the window, craned his neck, lipped at his hair, then tugged lightly in a vaguely reprimanding way. Next to Ciro stood Edana, who was clearly having trouble deciding if she should be worrying over her Chosen or chewing Ciro and Makani out for not taking the entire situation more seriously.

Truthfully, the chances of either of them going into backlash shock over their Gifts weren't very high. Tri and Makani both had much more control over their elements than Fen and Keahi—Fen, who couldn't even tap his power without going into a frighteningly harsh pain-loop—and Keahi, who seemed to have a significant link between the fire and her equally hot temper.

Triveni and Makani, however, were probably safe. _Probably _being the key word.

o-o-o-o-o

They weren't there with the others, but Tethys and Nitesh were vaguely following the conversation anyway. More than that, though, they were eavesdropping, via Kyrith, on an emergency inner-sanctum meeting of Heralds. It had been called by Herald Elita when the actions of the Blue students had come to light.

Now they were trying to decide what to do about them.

Clearly, a punishment was in order—and a severe one at that. To attack and try to kill Heraldic Trainees was an offense of the highest order. It called for the harshest of consequences.

Still, the offenders were still children themselves, so they could not be tried as if they were adults.

The inner-circle of Heralds—which consisted of the Monarch's Own, of course, as well as a few others—were therefore tasked with deciding the appropriate course of action when it came to punishing the Blues in question. Elita—and through her, Kyrith—were the ones with the most say in the matter, though.

They had the Companions to thank, really. It had been the Elemental Companions, as well as a handful of others, whom had sprung to the aid of the threatened Trainees. It was those same Companions who had rounded up the Blues involved and kept them in place until the Heralds could arrive and take them into custody.

"They're too young for us to put on trial."

"But we have to. Trying to kill Heraldic Trainees? That can't be tolerated."

"Of course not. But they _are_ still just children…"

"What would you have us do, then?"

"What _can_ we do?"

The discussion—which occasionally bordered on an argument—had been going on for nearly two candlemarks now. Despite being calm and attentive compared to Edana and Ciro, even Tethys and Nitesh were beginning to lose patience. Only the fact that they were in the company of the Grove Born kept them from making frustrated utterings.

"Alright." Finally, Elita seemed to decide it was time she took things into her own hands. "We'll do the only thing we can: we will revoke their privileges as Blue students and permanently suspend them from the Collegium. In short, they'll be kicked out."

"Permanent suspension…?"

"Yes. This will put a blemish on both the four involved students themselves and their families. These students will never be permitted on Collegium grounds again."

"One has a younger sister who is also attending—"

Elita nodded. "I am aware of this. However, we cannot punish her for her sibling's crimes. She will be permitted to remain here, should she wish to." Then a pause, and she added, "I doubt that she will stay, though. Her family will most likely remove her to attend private school in town and…"

Out in the Field, Nitesh sighed heavily and withdrew his mind from Kyrith's—and therefore from Elita's. It was frustrating that there was nothing harsher they could do.

_:They try to kill us, and all they get is kicked out. That's not right.:_

_:Technically, they only tried to kill our Chosen.: _Tethys pulled away from the meeting as well, and turned a calm gaze toward Nitesh. She wasn't any more impressed than he was, but there was nothing they could do about it. The decision had been made. _:They are children, Nitesh. Would you have them executed?:_

_:Well, no_, of course not_, but still…:_

Next to them, Kyrith flicked an ear lightly, then looked toward them, surveying. If this was how Nitesh—always calm and cheerful—was responding, how would Edana react? Her temper would definitely flare, especially considering how Keahi was at the moment.

Kyrith silently hoped he wouldn't get bitten again.

o-o-o-o-o

Makani was getting restless—and so was Ciro, judging by the way the boy and his Companion were starting to shift and shuffle. They hadn't started complaining yet, but that was sure to follow soon enough. Across the room, Triveni considered kicking them out before that happened.

He was trying to decide and deep enough in thought over it that when Tethys touched his mind, it actually startled him. He jumped—just faintly, though, not enough for the others to notice. A second later he shook his head at himself before reaching back toward his Companion and meeting her touch halfway.

_:Teth?:_

_:I'm here, Lovey.: _Tethys sounded almost weary, and when Tri sent a worried, questioning feeling in her direction she responded with reassurance; _:they've decided on a punishment—the students who attacked you are going to be permanently expelled from the Collegium.:_

_:That's all?:_

_:Yes. They are minors. There isn't anything else they can do.:_

_:It doesn't seem like much of a consequence, considering.:_

_:I know, but…:_

_:It's alright. I understand.: _Tri stifled a sigh, his eyes skimming around the room, flitting toward Edana before landing and resting on Keahi. _:I don't think Keahi and Edana will, though. How am I going to explain this?:_

_:Well, Fen already knows. I suppose Nitesh and I will take care of explaining to Edana and Ciro.:_

Tri's gaze shifted from Keahi to Fen, and for the first time he noticed the glazed half-there look on the other boy's face that made it clear he was conversing with his own Companion. Makani was still looking bored, so he obviously hadn't heard the news yet. And of course, Keahi remained unconscious.

_:Still no signs of life from her?:_

_:No, not yet.: _Shifting, Tri pushed away from the doorframe and stretched a little _:Hey, meet me at the stables? I'd like to go for a ride, if you don't mind.:_

_:Of course, love. I'll meet you there.:_

o-o-o-o-o

The stables were empty when he arrived, not even the usual stable hand to greet him. That was fine with Tri, though. He knew how to work a saddle and hackamore, so he could get Tethys ready for their ride on his own. Making his way down to Tethys' stall, he set about getting her tack ready while he waited for her to arrive.

Things in Haven were not what he thought they would be.

When he had first met Tethys and been brought to the Collegium he'd had certain… expectations. Ideas about how things would be, how his time there would progress. But now… well. Having his life threatened hadn't been among what he thought might happen.

But that aside…

Fen's fit had been unexpected. How could anyone have thought something like that might happen? He had spent days in Healers' before he had regained consciousness—and now Keahi was in the same position.

It was only because he had such good control over his element that he wasn't there as well. Did all of their Gifts have the potential to be so rough, harsh and out-of-control? Tri certainly hoped not. But then, he couldn't imagine being as _damaged_ as Fen was, or as _angry_ as Keahi.

When it came to Fen, none of them really knew why he reacted to blood the way he did—or why his Gift, in turn, reacted to his _reaction_ the way _it_ did. That could be a problem, in the long run. But what was even more interesting about Fen was his not-so-apparent interest in Keahi.

Tri, being a water elemental, was naturally fairly empathic, and very attuned to others' emotions. So the way that Fen acted around Keahi, the way he reacted to her, the quiet way he spoke to her, made him fairly sure that the other boy was interested in her as more than just a fellow Trainee and friend.

What made it even more curious was that Keahi seemed calmer around Fen. She wasn't quiet, was still sarcastic and still had a temper, but something about him seemed to help keep her more stable—or at least, it did when he wasn't having a fit and she wasn't losing her mind to the flame.

Interesting, Tri thought, because earth was as good as putting out fire as water was.

Then, of course, of all of them, the wild card was Makani. The wind was inherently wild. It was something you couldn't tame, couldn't hold, couldn't control—and somehow, Makani did just that. True, it was his Gift, but at the same time… the other boy was young, energetic, restless and always bouncing from one thing to another. How he managed to control _himself_, never mind the _wind_, Tri didn't quite understand.

"You look like you're woolgathering."

"Ah…?" Triveni blinked, looking up from where he had been absently rubbing down Tethys' saddle. She still wasn't there—he assumed she had been held up. If she had been explaining everything to Edana and Ciro, he wouldn't be surprised.

The girl who had spoken was standing just outside the stall next door. She was thin and slight, but appeared to be about his age, wearing the same Heraldic Trainee uniform as he was, looking a little rumpled—probably from chores, possibly from weapons' class—and smiling cheerfully toward him.

"Oh. Yeah." Tri shrugged, fingers toying with one of the stirrups on the saddle in front of him. "Guess I lost track of my thoughts. I'm supposed to be meeting my Companion here."

"Mn, Tethys, right?"

When he started slightly, she gestured toward the name-plate on Tethys' saddle. "Right." Shaking his head, Tri had to smile a little at his own thoughtlessness. "Yeah, that's her name. She's late, though. What about yours?"

"Hiroli's on his way. I just got out of chores and we're going to go for a ride before my next class."

"Teth and I are going for a ride, too."

"Hey, you want to go together?"

"Huh? I… um. I mean… sure. I guess. I'm Triveni."

"Great!" If anything, she seemed to brighten even more—and then stuck a hand out to finally introduce herself to a slightly-overwhelmed Triveni, who was of course, given recent events, severely unused to people around the Collegia being so friendly toward him; "Sarine Trellis. Nice to meet you, 'Ven!"


End file.
